A Daughter's Pain
by octogirl
Summary: Sportsmaster captures Artemis, and brutally punishes her for being a traitor. Meanwhile, Wally is freaking out over her disappearance, and his feelings for her start showing through.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! I haven't finished this story yet, so it might take a while to get new chapters up, so I appologize in advance. So here it is! Enjoy!**

A dark, shadowy figure leaped across one of Gotham's high skyscrapers. Another, bigger, and darker shadow figure followed close behind. It was an intense chase as both, without fault, leapt and sprinted over the flat roof tops.

Artemis was down to her last arrow, and tried to strategise what to do with it, as well as focus on not tripping or falling. Of course, with the skills Artemis posessed, it wasn't that difficult.

She felt Sportsmaster close on her heals, and picked up the pace. Artemis hadn't stumbled once, until a knife flew past her head, surprising her. Her focus was taken off her running for a mere second, which was just long enough for an air vent to trip her. Artemis tumbled over, and before she knew it, Sportsmaster was ontop of her.

" Everybody messes up eventually, " Sportsmaster said in his wierd, giving a lesson and rubbing it in at the same time, sort of way.

Artemis just gave him a low growl, and rammed her bow into his chin. Sportsmaster was sent backwards, giving Artemis the chance to get out from under him. She stood up and was about to take off again, when a knife flew past her arm, slicing her on the way. She turned around just in time to block a punch from Sportsmaster. This launched into a huge fight.

" I'm disappointed, Artemis, " Sportsmaster said, delivering a strong blow to her face.

" That's a first, " Artemis said sarcastically, regaining her footing just in time to block another blow.

" After all of your training, this is all you have? Pathetic. "

" It's kinda hard to learn anything from training when you're getting beat sixty percent of the time. " She landed a perfectly executed kick in Sportsmaster's jaw.

Artemis took advantage of the moment, and attacked with a viciousness that she didn't know she had. She had finally taken control of the fight, and was not about to give it up. Sportsmaster tried to block and fight back, but Artemis's locked up rage towards him just came pouring out. However, he wasn't the kind to not have a plan for everything. He pulled out a knife and sliced Artemis on the arm. She kept fighting as though nothing had happened, until she started feeling lightheaded.

Artemis's movements became slower, allowing Sportsmaster to take back the fight. Her muscles cramped, and before she knewwhat happened she was on her back with the world spinning above blade had poison on it. Poison! Her own father poisoning her! There was something seriously wrong with that picture. Yeah he was a terrible, abusive in every way dad...But poison! For real?

The last thing she saw was Sportsmaster hovering over her, that disappointed look that she knew all too well spread across his face. Only difference was that she didn't feel bad about it anymore.

Wally was pacing back and forth in the break room. He was worried sick about Artemis. " She should be back by now, " he said.

" I wouldn't worry about it too much, " M' Gann said, putting a pan of cookies in the oven. " I'm sure she's ok. "

" Yeah Wally, " Dick added. " She's probably just taking her time. "

" At least give her another half hour before you panic, " Kaldur said.

" Try to whelm yourself, dude. I'm sure she'll be back soon. " But the more Dick said, the less he believed it. It had been quite a while since Artemis left, and he was getting that uneasy feeling in his stomach.

Conner just stood by the counter, not saying a word as usual. If it were up to him, they would leave right now, and find her. Although he wondered if it was because he was actually concerned about Artemis, or if he just wanted to kick some serious butt. He really didn't know.

Kaldur was able to keep Wally calm for the next hour, ( which was surprising, seeing how it was Wally ), but even the rest of the team was getting worried. Kaldur included. Now it had been a long time since Artemis left.

" That's it! " Wally finally burst out. " I'm going out to find her. Anyone who wants to join me is welcome. "

The team was very quick to get up, and get changed to go. ( Of course Wally was the quickest. For more than one reason this time. )

" I'll check her tracker, " Dick said, pulling up the mini screen from his glove.

" Where are you all going? " A robotic voice asked, just as the team was about to go through the zeta tubes.

The five young heroes spun around to see Red Tornado walking up to them. Even though he couldn't make expressions, he still looked slightly confused. It's wierd how your mind can make things that never change seem to change.

" We're going out to find Artemis, " Wally replied, without hesitation.

" Does Batman know about this? " Red Tornado asked.

" No. And we're not wasting time to tell him. "

" Wally, " Dick whispered.

" Ok, " the robot hero replied, surprisingly calm. Then again, he did always seem to have a calmness to his voice. Of course, he is a robot. " I will notify him, then. Don't stay out too long, though, ok? If you don't find her soon, that means she's in trouble, and you need to come back to create a plan. "

Wally, slightly vibrating from impatience, nodded, and took off into the zeta tube. The rest of the team followed one by one.

" Thank you, " Kaldur said before walking into the tube.

Red Tornado called Batman on the intercom, and told him what the team was doing. Batman told him to come to the computer lab. The black draped hero was hovering over a computer when RedTornado got there. His fingers were flying across the key board, and a few other computers were up and running too.

" What is it? " Red Tornado asked.

" Artemis has been captured, " Bruce replied, without breaking from his work. " All of her trackers are offline. "

" Do we have any clue as to who, or why? "

" Not yet. Most of the obvious candidates are either in Arkham or Belle Reve. "

" Does Green Arrow know? "

" Yes. I notified him right before you contacted me. He's out trying to get some answers. "

" I will contact the team, and have them come, back. "

Red Tornado left, leaving Batman alone in the computer lab again. He called the team over the intercom, and told them that he needed to talk with them. The team reluctantly came back, and Robin had a really bad feeling about it.

 **So there's chapter one. I really hope you all liked it! Please please please review! The more reviews I get, the faster I can get new chapters up. So please review! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Thank you sooo much for the reviews! It is highly appreciated. I appologize now if the setting is confusing. I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn't figure out how to say it. Hopefully it will get a little clearer as the story continues, but I appologize if it doesn't. So here's chapter two! Enjoy!**

Artemis slowly blinked her eyes open, just to squeeze them shut again, due to the bright overhead light. Her head surprisingly didn't hurt too bad, but she did feel a little dizzy. She slowly opened her eyes to a squint, and kept opening them more as she adjusted to the light.

As her body started to wake up more, a sharp pain shot through her back, and into her shoulders. That's when she noticed that it wasn't the ceiling that she was looking at...It was the floor. Artemis lifted her head, which shot burning pain inbetween her shoulder blades. The burn continued to intensify as she realized what position she was in.

Her wrists and ankles were bound together with barb wire, and she was elevated horizontally, letting gravity pull her into an uncomfortable arched position. The barb wire dug into her skin as the weight of her body pulled her shoulders back. Not to mention the cramp that was growing in her hips and thighs.

Artemis let her head drop, trying not to put so much pressure between her shoulders. She tried to hold some of her weight, but the wire dug deeper into her wrists and ankles, and she didn't feel like being dismembered by barb wire today.

She heard a door squeak open behind her, close, and lock. Then the all too familiar, heavy footsteps coming towards her. She lifted her head back up, determined to look strong even though it intensified the burning ten thousand times.

" You know, " Sportsmaster started, standing infront of Artemis. " This is what happens to little girls who don't obey. "

He put his hand on her back, and pressed down, causing the barb wire to cut deeper as small streams of blood rolled down her arms, and making her back scream with burning pain. Finally, after what felt like forever, ( although ti was probably just a few seconds ), he took his hand off.

Artemis released her clenched jaw, and tried to lift her head back up. Of all the dads in the world, she had to be stuck with this one. Only he would do this to his own daughter. Only him.

" Look at you, " Sportsmaster continued, starting to circle her like a predator. " Weak. " He gave her a punch in the side, causing her to gasp out of surprise. " Pathetic. " He punched her in the other side. This time she was ready, so not a sound escaped. He grabbed Artemis under the chin, and forced her to look up at him. " And worthless. " He backhanded her across the face.

Her shoulders cried in pain from the swinging that th blows caused. Her legs were cramping, falling asleep, and going numb at the same time. And her back...Somebody might as well have set every muscle on fire.

" I always knew that you would be the failure, " Sportsmaster said, messing with some things that Artemis couldn't see. " Not that Jade turned out much better. But at least she's not a traitor. "

He came back over holding a small pot that had steam rising from it. He also had a small ladle. Artemis knew exactly what he was planning. She had small, light scars scattered across her body from when she was little to prove it.

" I think you remember this part of training right? " Sportsmaster said.

" How could I forget? " Artemis gasped. Having her chest stretched like it was made it hard to breathe.

Sportsmaster grinned, and walked out of Artemis's sight. Although she knew that he was standing next to her. A small, boiling hot stream of water falling onto her back confirmed it. The first little stream was never too bad. It was just a little trickle. However, due to her past expierience, Artemis knew that it was going to get a whole lot worse. The scorching hot water flowed across her back a second time. This time was a little more. Because her back was so arched, the water pooled together, and settled right in the center. ' That's gonna be a nice burn, ' Artemis thought.

Sportsmaster continued to pour the searing water over Artemis's back. Adding alittle more water to the scoop everytime. The pool in the middle of her back continued to grow, and thanks to each scoop of new burning water, it kept getting hotter.

Artemis squeezed her eyes shut, and just focused on breathing. She had learned a, long time ago, that if she focused on even, steady breaths, then she wouldn't focus on the pain so much. Of course, her back was still on fire...Inside and out.

Batman and Red Tornado were standing infront of the zeta tubes, waiting, when the team started coming through one by one. The young heroes walked up to the two, and stood infront of them anxiously.

" I don't think that I need to dress this up, Batman started. " So I am just going to get to the point. Artemis has been captured. All of her trackers are offline, which means that somebody destroyed them. "

Wally's breath got caught in his throat. He had expected this, but to actually hear it was like a punch in the gut. Batman kept talking, but Wally didn't hear another word. She was captured. Gone. Missing. Who knows what she's being ut through right now!?

" Wally? You ok? " Dick asked, snapping Wally out of his trance. " You're looking alittle pale. "

It was true. All the blood had drained from his face. It felt like his heart had stopped pumping, and his body was a noodle. His knees were wobbly, and felt like they would give out at any moment.

" Y-yeah, " Wally mumbled. " I-I'm f-fine. "

" I did not expect this kind of reaction from you, Wally, " Batman said.

Nobody had. From the moment Artemis had joined the team neither one of them had been too fond of eachother. Granted, things had been getting better between them, it was still a shock that Wally was this concerned. What they didn't know, though, was that Wally's had a thing a thing for her ever since she joined. Not that he ever showed it. Which he found strange about himself, seeings how he's always flirting. But with Artemis, for whatever reason, he was embarrassed to show it.

" You do not look well, " Kaldur said.

" Yeah. Maybe you should sit down, " M' Gann added.

" No, " Wally replied. He had regained his strength, and became overrun with anger. " We need to find her. Now. "

" We have been working on it, " Red Tornado said.

" But we need more to go off of in order to go out looking for her, " Batman added. " Robin, come with me. " He started heading for the computer lab, and Dick followed next to him.

Red Tornado left too, so the team decided to go to the break room, and wait for orders. Wally wasn't so thrilled with this decision. He was ready to race across the entire planet to find her. Heck! He would run throughout the entire universe for her. But, since that didn't appear to bean option, he followed the team.

' I'll find you, Artemis, " he thought. ' I won't stop until I do. '

 **So there's chapter two. I really hope you all liked it! Pleeeeaaase keep the reviews coming! They are a huge motivation for posting new chapters faster. So please review! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I would like to give a special thanks to TrollingJade for the reviews. I HIGHLY appreciate it! So here's chapter three. As always, enjoy!**

Artemis let out the deep breath that she had been holding. Sportsmaster had just finished pouring a big, slow, hot scoop of water over her burning, tingling back.

" This is just baby stuff, isn't it? " Sportsmaster said. " You've done this your whole life. It probably doesn't even hurt anymore. "

Artemis just glared at the floor, pretending like it was her whack job dad, and she was using laser vision to melt his face off. But since that wasn't possible she would happily settle for beating the crap out of him instead.

" Lucky for you I brought something to make things a little more interesting, " Sportsmaster continued.

Artemis felt a cool, steel edge cut through her back. Oh boy. Her eyes went wide as she realized what he had planned. Sportsmaster scooped some of the blistering water, and let it slowly drip into the deep cut. Artemis clenched her teeth to hold back a scream that threatened to escape. ' Just breathe, Artemis, ' she told herself in her mind. ' Just breathe. '

The scorching water slid, and dripped into the cut, burning the edges. Sportsmaster kept adding more and more water to the cut. Then he moved to another spot on her back, cut, and poured. He continued this for what felt like forever. Artemis kept her teeth clenched, and head down. This was way more painful than she had expected. ' Stay strong, Artemis, ' she thought. ' You've been through worse than this. This is nothing. You can take this. '

Sportsmaster cut her deep in the middle of her back, right where all the water was pooled. The searing hot liquid eagerly rushed into the gash, burning and scorching everything in it's path.

Finally, he finished, and put the ladle away where Artemis couldn't see. She just hung there, unable to move. The muscles in her shoulders and back screamed and cried in pain. They burned so bad. Her hips and thighs developed massive cramps that continued to grow numb, and more painful every minute. Blood streamed down her arms and legs, due to the barb wire that cut deeper and deeper every second. That stuff had never seemed so horrible to her until she was hanging from it. And her back burned, and tingled, and ached from the deep cuts and boiling hot water.

Pretty much, to put it in simple terms, everything hurt and she felt like hell.

Sportsmaster came back over witha pair of wire clippers in each hand. Of course, Artemis's mind jumped to the worst possiblity. Wire clippers could do quite abit of damage. Damage that she didn't want to become a victim to. Instead, Sportsmaster stretched his arms out to each end of her, and clipped the wire just above her ankles and wrists. Artemis crashed face first to the floor, with nothing to catch herself. The wind was knocked out of her, and it didn't feel too good, but being dropped was way better than what she had imagined. Plus, now there wasn't so much stress on her back and shoulders, and the cramps started to recede. The barb wire was no longer digging into her either. It just stayed where it was.

So even though she was gasping for air, and everything still hurt a little bit, she was doing pretty good. Who knew that being dropped would solve so many problems, and create so much relief?

Just as things seemed even the tiniest bit brighter, ( as bright as you can get in this situation ), Artemis recieved a hard kick in the side. She instinctively tried to curl up into a ball, but her muscles felt totally useless. They were still numb and sore. She recieved another kick, right in the stomach. She gasped even more for air. ' Will he ever let me catch my breath? ' She wondered. She was answered with a hard kick in the back, reknocking out what tiny air she had gathered. The cut he had kicked began throbbing uncontrolably. All the others started following in it's footsteps, too.

From the slightest bit of relief, right back down to hell. This would be when some people say, " what a world! "

Batman and Robin had been in the computer lab all day. So the team had waited in the break room. They were really starting to get concerned. M' Gann had made, at least, five thousand baked goods. Cooking did always help her relax. Conner had stood in the kitchen, watching her. He hadn't said a word the whole time. No need to. Everyone was thinking the same thing. Kaldur was sitting on the couch, becoming more worried about Wally. He was worried about Artemis, but the speedster was really starting to freak him out. As for Wally...Well, he was pacing back and forth. Not the normal pacing, but the Wally, zippy, speedster pacing. Where he feels like he's going slow, but to everyone else he was a yellow and red streak zipping back and forth. He wanted to be out there, looking for her regardless of what little information they had.

" Wally, " Kaldur finally said. " Please, come sit down. You are only going to drive yourself crazy. "

" Too late, " Wally replied, barely audible over his ' pacing '. " We should be out there looking for her. Not sitting here doing nothing. "

" I didn't think you liked her that much, " M' Gann said. " I'm kind of surprised that you're freaking out like this. "

" Well. " Wally slowed his pacing to a normal walking speed. " I...um...I'm not some kind of insensitive jerk who doesn't care about anyone. This is the first time that anyone from this team has been captured. I guess it freaked me out abit. " Some of it was a lie, but some of it was true too.

Red Tornado walked in, and the team anxiously stood up.

" Any news? " Wally asked.

" Unfortunately, no, " Red Tornado replied. " But they will not stop until they find something. As for you four, it's getting late, and you need some rest. "

" No way! " Wally cut in. " I'm not resting until we find her. "

" Don't you think that it will be easier for you to find her if you are fresh instead of tired? "

" How am I suppose to rest while she's out there, going through who knows what?! "

" Stay up if you wish, but you need to be prepared for anything tomorrow. "

" Oh, I will be. "

 **So there's chapter three. Please please please review! Whether it's good, bad, totally random. Doesn't matter! Just review! Thanks guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Thank you sooo much for the reviews! You are all so awesome! So here's chapter four. Enjoy!**

* * *

Artemis slowly started to open her eyes. The major headache hit almost immediately. The pain of the rest of her body slowly followed after. The aching of her muscles. The burning of her cuts, barb wire, and burns. The throbbing of the bruises.

She wondered how long she'd been out for. If it was the same night, or the next day. If it had been multiple days. She wondered if the rest of the team was ok. Obviously they hadn't been with her when she was captured, but was this part of a bigger scheme? Did Joker have Robin? Did Black Manta have Aqualad? She hoped not.

Artemis heard the door squeak open again, and those heavy footsteps. She layed there like she was still out, hoping that it would buy her some time at least. Instead, she received a hard kick in the ribs, and her dad's harsh voice telling her to get up. She held back a groan that had almost escaped. No way was she about to look weak infront of him!

Artemis slowly started to push herself up into a sitting position, just to get the heel of a boot in her back, shoving her on her face again. Sportsmaster dug the edge of his heel into one of the deep cuts on her back. He noticed her tense up, and hold her breath. ' Weak, ' he thought.

He took his heel out of Artemis's back, and pulled out a long leather whip from his belt. Artemis heardit, and prepped herself. She'd been through this more times than she could count. The scars on her back proved it. Although, she had the feeling that this time was going to be different. Usually he never gave her or Jade more than ten lashes as punishment for not doing something right. But this time, she had a feeling that it was going to be a few morethan ten.

" You know, Artemis, " Sportsmaster started. " I'm surprised that your little justice friends are keeping you around. I mean, they have to know that you're hiding something. " He brought the whip above his head, and slammed it down on Artemis. She curled up into a tighter ball. " You've always been a lousy liar. " SLASH!

Sportsmaster stood there, whipping Artemis to the core. She pushed back tears that fought to pour out.. Not from pain, but from memories. All the memories from her past thatshe tried so hard to forget. The nightmare played out in her mind, while it continued out in the physical world now, too. ' This your life, ' she told herself. ' Always has been...Always will be. Sulking over it won't help anything, so suck it up. '

Sportsmaster finished with one last, hard lash. He drained the whip of the blood, put it back on his belt, and took a long look at his work. Artemis was slightly shaking on the ground, curled up. She was laying in a puddle of blood...Her blood, chin tucked into her chest. She was cut, and torn from head to toe, and covered in blood. To Sportsmaster, she was the wimpiest, most pathetic thing he had ever seen.

Artemis's body burned, and ached worse than it ever had before. She still felt the leather tear through her skin, even though Sportsmaster had stopped. But what hurt even worse was the mental part. She was tough. Especially growing up in the family that she did. Not much could break through the mental wall that she had built. But there was still that human longing for a family. A good family who would love her, and care about her, and pick her up, not push her down.

Sportsmaster interrupted Artemis's thoughts with a powerful kick in her bloodied, bruised back. She lifted her head up, and slowly pushed herself up so that she was facing him. Artemis gave her evil, corrupted, wicked, beastly, jerk of a father the hardest glare that she could make. She felt the hate pouring out of her. Sportsmaster just gave a slight laugh/grunt. This reminded him of similar situations during training.

" You, " he started. " Are no warrior. You are a pathetic, useless, and worthless piece of crap that should have been disposed of a long time ago. I am very disappointed in you. "

" Good, " Artemis gasped in a raspy voice. " That means that I'm not like you. My goal is to disappoint you so much that the very thought of me makes you throw up. "

Sportsmaster was actually quite abit surprised at his daughter's response. She had never been that bold to him before. He was losing control of her. Although he figured that he had lost control when she left. But still...He had to beat her back into submission, and that's exactly what he was going to do. There was no way in hell that he was going to let Artemis get away with this.

* * *

Wally had barely gotten any sleep that night. His mind was running wild with different possibilities of what could've happened to Artemis. He had even gotten sick a few times because he was so worried. The feelings that were rushing through him were foreign. He had never been worried about anyone this much before. What was he supposed to do with these emotions? How was he suppose to deal with them? How was he suppose to hide them from the team? He was bursting with concern , and anxiety, and others that he didn't even know existsed. Literally...Bursting...To the point of throwing up. Who does that?!

Wally was the first team member to arrive at Mount Justice. ( Technically Dick was, but he had been there with Batman all night, so he doesn't count. ) The young speedster burst into the computer lab, and was hovering over Dick's shoulder before anyone knew that he had arrived.

" I can't focus with you breathing in my ear like that, " Dick said, without breaking from the keyboard.

" Sorry, " Wally replied, backing up half an inch.

Dick took a deep breath to hold back a huge sigh. He loved Wally like a brother, but sometimes he just wanted to punch the speedster in the face.

" You have no business in here, Wally, " Bruce said. " Why don't you go wait for the rest of the team. "

" Umm, yeah. Sure, " Wally replied. " Have you gotten anything yet? "

" Not yet. "

Wally slowly backed away, and headed off for the zeta tubes. He felt himself fall deeper into despair. Where was she? Where was Artemis? Who would've taken her? Why? Where? So many questions, and no answers. ' Some heroes we are, ' Wally thought.

The robotic voice of the zeta tubes interrupted his thoughts. He expected to hear Aqualad's number, or M' Gann's, or Conner's, but instead it was Green Arrow's. Oliver walkedthrough, head hung low, bow in hand. Wally rushed up to the archer, slightly startling him.

" Did you find anything? " The young speedster asked.

" No, " Oliver solemnly replied. " Nobody knows anything. And there's no trace of her anywhere. "

" There has to be something. Anything! Things that she's been apart of. People she has connections with. Criminals she has connections with. "

Oliver's head snapped up. " No, " he whispered under his breath. " I've gotta talk to Batman. "

he archer took off for the computer lab, leaving Wally standing there confused. What was that about?

 **So there's chapter four. We're nearing the end. Just a few more chapters. Please keep reviewing! It is still very much appreciated! Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! I don't have anything to say for this one, so here it is. Chapter five. Enjoy!**

Oliver burst into the computer lab, almost as fast as Wally had earlier. " Batman! I know who... " Then he noticed Dick working on another computer. " Umm, I need to talk to you, privately. "

Bruce nodded, and told Dick to keep working. He walked out of the lab, closed the door, and turned to face Oliver. " Did you find something? "

" Kind of. It was more of Wally whobrought it to my attention. I think Sportsmaster has her. "

Bruce's eyes grew wide. " Of course. We should have thought of that sooner. Cheshire is free right now. Try to find her and get some answers. "

Oliver nodded, and took off. He ran past Wally and the rest of the team who were coming out of one of the zeta tubes. He nearly jumped into one of the tubes, and disappeared. The team stood there, stunned. Nobody had ever seen him in that big of a rush before. Things just kept getting wierder and wierder. Wally was acting strange. Now Green Arrow was acting strange. How could Artemis's kidnapping cause this kind of change to things?

" What was that about? " M' Gann asked.

" Don't know, " Wally replied. " Maybe they finally found something. "

" I don't understand why everyone else gets to work, but we just get to do nothing, " Conner said. " Even Robin is working. "

" I agree, " Wally stated. " We should be working on this too. Not just sit around, doing nothing. "

" We must be patient, " Kaldur remarked. " If they have nothing for us to do, then it is best for us to wait. "

" I agree with Kaldur, " M' Gann said softly. " If they don't have anything for us to do, then there's nothing that we can do right now. We should just wait. "

" Oh, ok! " Wally burst out. " So when we find Artemis dead, what do we have to say about it?! That we waited?! That there was nothing we could do!? That we didn't even try!? I'm not giving up on her that easy! "

" Wally, Settle down..." Kaldur started.

" No! She's too important to give up on! She's too special! I'm not gonna wait! " He was vibrating by this point. Anger, and passion, and hate, and desperation were pouring out of him.

" Just listen to me..."

" No! I won't! I'm gonna find her! I love her! "

With that, the world seemed to stop spinning. Wally immediately stopped vibrating, and stood in shock of what he had just said. He had just admit to the whole team, ( Dick had walked in to hear that too ), exactly what he had tried so hard to hide. The rest of the team was standing in shock as well. They had no idea that he felt that way. And that was really wierd for Wally to hide it. Really wierd.

" You - love her? " Dick asked, trying to piece it together in his mind.

" We thought you couldn't stand her, " M' Gann added.

" Well, " Wally stammered. " I can't...But I can... And...Well...It's complicated. All I know is that I'm not waiting any longer to find her. I can't. "

The team exchanged glances, and nodded. " I'll talk to Batman," Robin said, heading off to find him.

M' Gann put a hand on Wally's shoulder. " Don't worry. We'll find her. "

* * *

Sportsmaster had just finishd giving Artemis the beating of a lifetime. He had thrown more punches, kicks, and abusive words at her than he ever had before. Yeah, she was his daughter, but he was seriously getting ready to kill her. Before, she would have backed down right away. But now, she held her ground, and never broke. She was like a whole new person, and he didn't like that too much.

Artemis layed there, curled up and shaking on the ground, in the puddle of her own blood that continued to grow. She was covered in bruises, cuts, and blood. Her body was burning, and stinging, and throbbing, and aching, and...Well, to put it straight, she felt like hell. Worse than that, actually. She felt like she had been through fifty different hells...And then some. But her mental pain far beat out her physical. She couldn't explain it, but something nside of her had burst, causing a flood of emotions to stuff themselves in her head. She was overwhelmed. Things from her past that she had buried as deep as she could. Things from the present. Things from what the future now looked like. It all flooded into her head.

Artemis had been so caught up with the emotions in her head that she didn't even notice Sportsmaster pulling out a knife, and holding it above her. His hands were slightly shaking from anger, but he steadied them. All of the anger and frustration from the past flooded his mind, so now he was going to take it out on Artemis, thinking that it would help.

" I've had enough of you, " he growled.

Artemis looked up to see her dad holding a knife above her, ready to plunge it into her at any moment. She was scared at first, but then she realized something. ' I have nothing to live for, ' she thought. ' My so called family hates me. Yeah, mom needs me, but she can just find help somewhere else. The team hates me. That's pretty clear. And Oliver...Well, he'll just find a new sidekick. He doesn't truly care. So go ahead dad. Kill me! You'll be doing me and everybody else a favor!

" I hope you said goodbye to your mom, " Sportsmaster said. Artemis put her head back down. She didn't want her whack job dad's face to be the last thing she saw. So she looked at the floor. Hard, cold, lonely, plain...The story of her life in a simple slab of concrete. She braced herself for the steel blade to penetrate into her, but noting came. Instead, she felt a gust of wind brush over her. She heard a bunch of grunts, and the steel blade clatter across the floor. Had the team come to save her? How did they find her? It only sounded like one person fighting. Where were the others?

Artemis slowly looked up, and turned her head so she could see the fight. There was Sportsmaster, and...Wait...It couldn't be. Long black hair. Green outfit. Cheshire?

 **So there's chapter five. Just a couple more chapters to go. Please continue to review! You guys have been so encouraging! Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I appologize if Cheshire seems out of character on this one. She's abit more caring than she appears on the show, but I believe that this is how she would react in this situation. I'm also a little bias when it comes to sisters because I have a sister and we get along really well, so I believe that any sisters can still care about eachother. So yes, Cheshire is going to be a little more caring, but that's how I think she really is. So here's chapter six. Enjoy!**

Artemis sat there in shock as she watched her dad and sister fight. Since when was Jade on her side? Didn't she believe...How'd she put it...' In this family, it's every girl for herself' ? Artemis watched the two battle, both sides staying strong. She wondered how good it felt to beat the crap out of their dad. Revenge for so many years of abuse. If she could move, and didn't have barb wir binding her wrists and ankles together, she would've joined the fight. But her body was pretty much useless at the moment.

The two seemed to fight for an eternity. Neither of them appeared to be tiring out, though. That is, until Sportsmaster blocked a kick too late, and was flung to the ground. Cheshire quickly got ontop of him before he could do anything, and gave that smile of her's. Not that you could see it behind the mask.

" This is for everything in the past. " Cheshire gave him a powerful punch in the face. " This is for being the worst father possible. " She gave him another, more powerful punch in the face. " And this is for what you just did to Artemis. " She gave him the hardest, most powerful punch that she could, knocking him out instantly.

Cheshire checke Sportsmaster's pulse to make sure that he was still alive, ( yeah she hated him, but he was still her dad, and, alhough she had many dreams about it, she didn't want to kill him ), then ran over to Artemis. Artemis was now on the edge of passing out from shock, but mainly from blood loss. Cheshire kneeled down, and checked her sister's pulse. It wasn't the greatest, but it was better than she had expected. She breathed a sigh of relief.

" Jade? " Artemis whispered.

" Mhm, " Cheshire replied, looking around to make sure that nobody was coming.

" Why...Why did you come for me? "

Cheshire gave a heavy sigh, and looked down at Artemis. This reminded her of so many times when she had to patch Artemis up from a hard beating. Suddenly, Artemis turned into the scared little girl again, begging for the family to stay together. Cheshire felt tears start to well up in her eyes, so she pushed the thought out of her mind, and came to the present.

" Because I don't want you dead, " she replied. There was more to it than that, but that was all she would admit. " Don't think that you're anything special, though. I would've done the same thing for dad if I knew that you were going to kill him. " But honestly, she didn't know if that was totally true or not.

" Thanks. " Then Artemis was out.

Cheshire scanned the area one more time, picked up Artemis, and started for the door when she heard a noise on the other side. She quickly hid Artemis in the shadows by the wall, then ran over to the other side, and crouched down in the shadows. She saw the door slightly open, and before whoever was there had a chance to enter, she pounced on them, pushing whoever it was back out of the room. They tumbled over eachother, landing with her ontop. When things slowed down, she noticed who it was. Green Arrow.

Oliver immediately shoved Cheshire off, held out his bow, and got an arrow ready to shoot. Finally he was going to get some answers.

" Hold up, pretty boy, " Cheshire said. " I think I know what you're looking for. "

" Where is she? " Oliver demanded.

" How about I make a deal with you. You don't turn me or Sportsmaster in, and I'll give you Artemis. "

" Deal. "

" Good. Follow me. "

Cheshire led Oliver into the room, and pointed over to the wall where Artemis was. Oliver rushed over, and immediately picked her up , while Cheshire grabbed Sportsmaster under the arms, and began dragging him away. Oliver ran out the door while contacting the League through the intercom.

" Green Arrow to Justice League. I have Artemis. She's in pretty bad shape. I'm taking her to the hospital. "

" We'll meet you there, " Batman replied over the com.

* * *

Dick was nearly run over by Batman as the dark hero marched past. He appeared to just be walking briskly, but Dick had to jog to keep up with him. There were just some things about Batman that he had given up trying to figure out. Batman was Batman, and that's all there is to it.

" What's going on? " Dick asked, jogging beside the hero.

" Green Arrow has found Artemis. We are meeting him at the hospital. "

" Wally will be happy to hear that. "

" The team won't be coming with us. Not this time. "

" Why not? "

" It is just safer if we go first. "

" So then are you gonna cage him up? Because he's not gonna stay here. I can guarantee that. "

" Well then it's your job to make sure that he does. "

Dick paused for a moment. He loved being Batman's sidekick, but it definitely was not an easy job. Not by a long shot. He nearly sprinted to catch up with Batman, and jogged the rest of the way with him. The rest of the League was waitting by the zeta tubes when the two arrived. The team was also there, and they could see Wally and the Flash arguing about something. Everybody knew what that something was, too.

" No. " Barry said. " Just wait. We'll tell you when you can come. "

The League brushed past the team, and disappeared into the zeta tubes. Dick grabbed Wally's arm, just incase he tried anything. But instead, Wally just stood there, watching as the League left. Dick could feel him shaking.

" She'll be ok, " Dick said.

* * *

The League arrived at the hospital, and Batman, Superman, Black Canary, and the Flash followed a nurse into a room. The rest of the League stayed in the waiting room. They walked in quietly, to see Oliver sitting by Artemis, who was unconscious on the bed, holding her her hand. He seemed to be talking under his breath, head down. Oliver noticed the League, and quickly stopped muttering. He still held onto Artemis's hand, though. Dinah immediately rushed over, and kneeled by the bed. She stroked Artemis's forehead as tears traiiled down he cheeks.

" How's she doing? " Barry asked.

" She's been unconscious the whole time, " Oliver replied. " She lost alot of blood, but the doctor said that she would be alright. She's got bruises and stitches all up and down, but nothing fatal. "

" Looks like she took a pretty hard beating, " Batman said. " She is certainly a tough one, though. "

The League stayed at the hospital for a while, but went back to the cave when night fell. Oliver, of course, stayed with Artemis at the hospital. The next day Batman got a call from Oliver, saying that Artemis had waken up, and that the team should come. Batman got the team, and they headed off for the hospital. when they arrived, a nurse led them to Artemis's room. She opened the door, and the team walked in. Oliver smiled, stood up, and left with Batman.

Artemis had a look of surprise and confusion spread across her face. " What are you guys doing here? "

" Batman said that Green Arrow told him that we should come, " Dick replied.

" But we were really concerned, and wanted to see if you were ok, " M' Gann added, knowing that Artemis just needed them to be there because they cared.

" How are ya doing? " Wally asked.

Artemis was shocked. Was that genuine concern in Wally's voice? " Fine. "

" What happened? " Dick asked.

" I, um, was captured. "

" By who? "

Sportsmaster. " Artemis prayed that he wouldn't ask the next question.

" Why? "

" Um...Well..."

" Stop grilling her, Robin, " M' Gann said. " If you had just gotten the beating of a lifetime would you want to answer a bunch of stupid questions? "

" Guys, it's fine. " Artemis tried to sit up abit more, wincing a little. " It doesn't matter anyway. "

" Yes it does, " Wally said.

" Since when do you care? "

" Well...Look, I've always cared. I just... " Wally put his head down. He just couldn't tell her how he felt.

 **So there's chapter six. One more chapter to go. Please keep reviewing! The reviews so far have been awesome, so please keep it up! Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! Thank you sooo much for the awesome reviews! So here's the last chapter...Chapter Seven. Just as a warning, this chapter is abit more on the mushy side. But I put romance in the topic for a reason. As always, enjoy!**

The team hung out with Artemis for a few hours. They talked a little bit about what had happened, but not a whole lot. M' Gann was able to keep the conversation pretty light. Artemis couldn't help but smile with the team around her. Somehow they made her feel like...Well...Like a family. This was the family that she had dreamed about her whole life. They had been right infront of her, and she hadn't even seen it until now.

It started getting late, so the team said their goodbyes, but Wally stayed. He was going to do it. He was going to tell her how he felt. His heart was pounding so hard that he was worried Artemis would see it thumping against his chest. His breathing became shaky and uneven, but he tried to even it out.

" Artemis? " He started in a shaky tone.

" Yeah? " Artemis replied. " You ok? "

" Yeah. I, uh, just wanted, um, to, um, tell you, something. "

" Ok. What is it? "

" Well...I, um. " Wally tried to find the right words, but nothing came to him. So he chickened out. " Get better fast, ok. "

A confused look flashed across Artemis's face. She was actually slightly disappointed. Ok, really disappointed. Of course Wally was annoying, but she had kind of hoped that he would, maybe, say something. The kind of something that actually meant something. The kind of something that starts something.

" Oh. Ok. Thanks. "

Wally slightly nodded, and started for the door, head hung low. Artemis gave a soft sigh, and started fiddling with the sheets. She heard the door click shut, and her heart dropped. After everything that had happened, she really could've used a _moment._ Not that she would ever admit that.

Artemis's head shot up when she heard the door fly open. Wally was in the entrance, and marched right up to her. She looked up into those emerald green eyes, just to see them looking right back at her. What was going on? Had he been posessed? Was he going crazy?

" Artemis, " Wally said, abit louder than he meant to. " I don't know how to say this, so..."

He bent down to her level, gently grabbed the back of her head, and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss. Artemis melted inside, and wrapped her bandaged arms around his neck. She felt so...So warm inside. And safe. Two feelings that she had never felt before. At least this deep. She never wanted it to end. Never. She wanted to stay in his arms forever. In his safe, protective arms.

Wally slowly pulled away from Artemis, but was stopped by her arms that were still around his neck. He could not believe that he just did that. He really hoped that he hadn't just made her upset, but realizing that she wasn't letting go of him, and he wasn't dead, he figured she was ok with it.

" Wally, " Artemis whispered. She looked into those dreamy, emerald green eyes. " Why did you do that? "

" Because, " Wally started. " Because I love you, Artemis. I always have. "

Artemis's heart leaped. Nobody had ever said that to her. Ever. Tears started streaming down her face. She hated it when her body did things against her will, like crying, but this time she was ok with it. For once in her life she was crying out of happiness, not sadness. She had never known that was possible until now.

" I love you too, Wally, " Artemis whispered through her tears.

Wally smiled, and relief flooded him. He had been worried that he had done something wrong when she started crying. But everything was fine. Better than fine. They were amazing! So how was she crying and smiling at the same time? Girls. They are so confusing.

Artemis pulled Wally back in for another long kiss. She ran her hands through his shaggy red hair, and pulled him closer. The passion filled the room. It was so thick that you could barely breathe. Everything seemed right with the world in that moment. All the pain from the past was long gone. It was just her and Wally, in one perfect moment.

A few months went by, and Artemis was back to normal. Everybody was very glad to have her back. Things had certainly changed, but they had changed for the better. The team really started showing how much they liked having her as a part of them, and Oliver made sure to show her how much he loved and cared about her. She now had her family. Her real family.

Artemis still had nightmares at night, though. All the things from her past had been brought back up, and weren't going away, but when she would train with the team, everything felt ok. Like everything was going to be fine. She felt something that she had never felt before...Hope.

 **And that concludes our story. Sorry it's abit on the shorter side. It was either have a short ending chapter or have a really long ending chapter. So I decided to split it up. I really hope that you all enjoyed it! You guys have been super awesome! Don't forget to tell me what you thought. Feedback is still HIGHLY appreciated! Thanks!**


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